The invention relates to controls for dry chemical dispensers.
Chemical dispensers are used for dispensing pellets, tablets and other forms of dry chemicals into wells and holding tanks. Such a dispenser is shown and described in a copending and concurrently filed application of Goudy et al, entitled, "Bacteriacidal Pellet Dispenser".
Such equipment operates on an intermittent basis to release batches of chemical into the treatment area. When power outages occur, chemical is not dispensed. To retain the effectiveness of chemical treatment, dispensing cycles should be adjustable to increase the amount of chemical dispensed for several hours after a power outage to "catch up" to a daily average of chemical treatment.
The equipment in the above copending application includes a mechanical timer for controlling dispensing cycles. A limitation in the adjustment of this timer is that, due to its mechanical construction, the "on" time for dispenser operation is complementary to the "off" time for the dispenser. If the "on" time for a dispensing cycle is increased, the "off" time between dispensing cycles is decreased by a corresponding amount, making one time dependent on the other. Control over timing cycles is also limited by the resolution available with the mechanical-type adjustment mechanism.